The Football Ferns have been given a lesson in what it takes to be at the top as Canada continued their Olympic gold medal celebrations with back-to-back victories over the New Zealanders.
The Football Ferns were part of Canada's Olympics celebration tour. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
An inexperienced Football Ferns side could not match the Canadians in Montreal, doing down 1-0 in their second and final game of the series on Wednesday.
Although the New Zealanders closed the gap on the scoreboard they couldn't crack the Olympic champions.
Football Ferns coach Jitka Klimková made three changes to the starting side that lost 5-1 to Canada in the opening game on Sunday.
Goalkeeper Anna Leat, who plays for West Ham in the Women's Super League, came into goal for Erin Naylor, forward Jacqui Hand got her first start and Tokyo Olympian Gabi Rennie lead the line for the first 39 minutes before she was replaced by Rosie White.
New Zealand were on the attack early, but it was Canada who found the back of the net first when Adriana Leon capitalised on a rebound off a Leat save in the 16th minute.
Ria Percival tested the Canadian custodian in the 25th minute with a long-range strike but Stephanie Labbe was able to tip the ball over the bar and keep a clean sheet for the hosts.
Canada made mass changes at the start of the second half, whereas Klimková did not make her second substitution until the 69th minute, when Hand made way for Hannah Blake to make her first apperance of the series.
Leat nearly made a costly error with 20 minutes to go when she was out of her box and the Canadians came close to chipping the ball over her and into the goal from long-range.
Canada's reserve goalkeeper Erin McLeod had a quiet second half, even as New Zealand kept pushing for the draw with more players rotated forward to keep fresh legs challenging the Canadians into time added on.
Before Wednesday's game, Klimková said mistakes happen in football and she expected her side would make errors as they played an attacking style that she wanted to implement during her time in charge.
But Klimková will want her players to improve their accuracy against their next opponents South Korea in November as she builds her squad towards the 2023 Women's Football World Cup to be co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia.
